Hammock Road, Hwy. 154 work nears completion

The right turning lanes on Hammock Road and Ga. Hwy. 154 are now open, and the traffic signal has been installed.

The project is expected to be totally complete by mid-October, said Kimberly Larson, regional spokeswoman with the Georgia Department of Transportation. “The project is about 90 percent complete,” Larson said.

The traffic signal will have to operate in “flash mode” for seven days before it can go into regular operation. There was no indication Friday of when the signal might begin flashing. The left-turn lane onto Hammock Road was still blocked with barrels.

The project was originally scheduled to be completed June 30. The contractor, C.W. Matthews, “encountered unexpected rock” that had to be drilled through, as well as other utility adjustments, said Larson.

The contract amount was $2,319,150.

The intersection improvement is one of Coweta’s most needed, because of a large number of accidents.

A Times-Herald report in October 2009 found that there had been at least 46 accidents at the intersection from 2004 to mid-2008.

There was a rash of accidents in 2009, and there was a drive to speed up the intersection improvement project.

But because of the geography of the area, including two ponds on the south side of Hwy. 154 and the creek on the north side, the design and right-of-way acquisition work was extensive.

GDOT had committed money for the project to go out for bids in December 2010, but things weren’t ready by then. Right-of-way acquisition began in March 2010, and the county was unable to reach agreements with some of the property owners.